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PTO 21st Century Strategic Plan Proposes Deferred Patent Examination, 4-Tier Fee System

 

 

PTO Corner

New PTO Mail Addressing Rules

 

AIPLA Opposes PTO Strategic Plan

1. PTO Strategic Plan

  1. AIPLA Opposition

  2. INTA (TM Assoc) Opposition

  3. IP Owners Assoc. Opposition

2. Background: The Plan & Its Critics:

In early June Director James Rogan unveiled the PTO's 21st Century Strategic Plan for lowering PTO expenditures per application, reducing the patent examination backlog to 18 months, and obtaining better and more prompt foreign protection for U.S. business.

In his Introduction, the Director warns that under the present paradigm and funding the 3,400 member examining corps cannot efficiently deal with the increasing numbers and complexity of current patent applications.  The plan proposes statute and rule changes to enable examiners to more promptly and thoroughly examine important new technologies.  It requires better funding (less application fee diversion) from Congress and higher application fees from applicants. 

The Patent Office Professional Association (POPA), the patent examiners' union, is dissatisfied with the Strategic Plan and fears it could increase pendency and harm patent quality.  It argues that Rogan's plan fails to address the key to raising patent quality, which is increasing the examiner's time per case.

To help applicants convert to electronic filing system (EFS) applications, the PTO announced partnership contracts with selected commercial vendors of word processing and docketing software.

Anticipating a decrease in the number of new trademark applications, Director Rogan announced layoffs of 135 trademark examiners (more than 1/3 of trademark examiners), effective in September.
 

 
 
 
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